Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto announced that the navy will be deployed to protect Italian ships passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at a time when fighting in Yemen has intensified again.
Speaking at a maritime forum, Crosetto said clashes along Yemen’s western coast threatened the safety of navigation in the strait, which is critical to global logistics. He said the necessary steps would be taken in coordination with the Chief of the General Staff to ensure the safe passage of Italian ships through Bab el-Mandeb.
Disruption to maritime traffic could increase costs
Crosetto said Italy had the capacity to protect its own ships while they pass through the strait. He said delays in bureaucratic decision-making could not be allowed to further complicate the situation.
Disrupting a maritime passage causes delays in the delivery of goods and increases costs and prices for families and companies.
The Italian minister said defending freedom of navigation meant protecting the country’s supply chain, the operations of its companies, families’ purchasing power and their ability to maintain their well-being.
Number of warships to be deployed remains undecided
Speaking after the forum, Crosetto said the number of Italian warships to be sent to Bab el-Mandeb to secure maritime traffic had not yet been decided.
Crosetto said they would assess the situation together with the government and parliament, adding that their aim was to restore the flow of maritime traffic. He said that, if assigned the mission, the ships would be sent to protect commercial vessels.
Fighting intensifies in western Yemen
Control on the ground in Yemen has shifted over roughly the past week. Houthi forces advanced along the country’s western coast and seized control of several strategic districts in the Hodeidah and Taiz governorates, including the city of Mocha and Mayyun Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Government forces advanced in the northern Al Jawf governorate toward the provincial capital, Al Hazm. Clashes continued on the Marib, Al-Dhale and Al-Bayda fronts, while government forces carried out airstrikes on Houthi positions and movement points in and around Mocha, as well as in Taiz, Lahij and Al-Dhale.
The escalation began in early July 2026 and was described as the most extensive military tension since the relatively calm period that followed the April 2022 truce. Fighting intensified particularly in September around Bab el-Mandeb and along Yemen’s western coast.
The war in Yemen began after the Houthis seized control of the capital, Sana’a, and several governorates in September 2014. In March 2015, an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened to support Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
